I'm early into my nanny contract at less than a year but have a review coming up in a couple of months. I watch two children under 12 months and am really feeling the burn lately.
The families I work for are pretty understanding and we have a contract for the share that we've all abided by and that I truly agreed with at the start.
My issue... There are X paid vacation days BUT half of those are picked by my employers and the other half by me. It leaves me with less than a week that I pick myself. At the time this felt fair because I saw it as vacation days either way, but now I really don't. I want/need some time off because I can tell I'm getting moody and less motivated but I only have so many days I can pick for the whole year. *side note* I do try to incorporate things into the days they pick to feel like they're my own but my body/mind doesn't tire when they decide to go visit family.
How can I explain to them that the days they choose aren't really my days too? In the past if a parent decides to stay home or not take part in the share I've always been paid... I just feel like they tried to trick me into thinking I had more days than I do.
At my past childcare position (non nanny) I had 11 days. I switched to nannying thinking I would have more peace in my work but am learning I still need those breaks to manage the stress.
Am I wrong to bring this up before the review? Or at all? I did sign the contract :/
What's happening? Email ISYN with your thoughts.
3 comments:
Are you saying that if they call in sick, that is a vacation day? As a nanny I've always been allowed to pick half of my vacation days and they pick half. But they are vacations and planned well in advanced. Random days off are not counting into vacation days...
Do you also have Paid Holiday and Paid Sick Leave? In my shares, I get paid sick, paid holidays, paid vacation accruing every 90 days PLUS I get paid when they go out of town/have family in to take care of the kids. It works out to a lot of time off with pay. Figure out how much time off would best suit you and ask for it. Depending on your experience, it's not unusual to have two weeks paid vacation. I will also recommend you find some ways to decompress. I read a lot on my kindle while the kids nap, I enjoy the park right alongside my kids. Swings, slides all of it! Listen to music in one ear while pushing a stroller, cut back on caffeine and drink more water. Strange, but it helps.
I'd bring it up at the review. Explain that you are feeling the burnout and require more vacation days of your own choosing. It might be nice to offer something in return, such as a few free "date night" babysitting stints, on nights throughout the year of your mutual choosing.
Good luck!
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